


Fire Walker

by ThatGrimmDemigod



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: And Komaeda talking about his emotional baggage, Idjime being smarter than he is, In Honor of Komaeda's birthday I bring you, Just the second game, M/M, Mild Gore, Self-Indulgent, Spoilers, What Have I Done, a bit OOC, fifth trial, just describing Komaedas ouchies, nothing else really, obviously I suppose, only at the begining, spoilers only for sdr2, this is getting so long k i l l m e
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-04 20:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18611593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatGrimmDemigod/pseuds/ThatGrimmDemigod
Summary: But Hajime lingered. No, that wasn't right. He couldn't move. His legs were stone and his body hummed with the gravity of the situation. Somewhere in his head, a voice screamed, pleaded, begged for him to move. Go help his classmates. Go find Komaeda. Go do something. But he didn't. He couldn't.Because something felt wrong.Behind the ensuing chaos, a part of Haijme's brain began whirling as soon as the fire broke out. A dull thrum, a blinding pressure, a squeezing grip beating to the rhythm of his heart. It felt like he had forgotten something and the missing information was creating a black hole in his head. The dull pain began to increase, until it was a searing pressure all over his head, there was too much, and his head was going to explode and there was nothing he could do, he tried to hold it all in, his hands pressing on his temples, attempting, failing, to keep the pieces of his mind all together, keeping him all together, but he was falling apart, he was shattering-An alternate situation where Hajime was less of an idiot and more of the optimistic shithead we all know he is. Picks up right up right after Akane kicks open the warehouse door in Chapter 5.





	Fire Walker

**Author's Note:**

> This right here is a fic I wrote a long time ago and just decided to post to celebrate Komaeda's birthday. Well, in attempting to post it I added more and got carried away and now it's really long and I am not even close to being done yet so I might end up posting a continuation chapter if people like it. I just wanted to explore Hinata's character more and got super carried away and what was just supposed to be self-indulgent fluff turned into long, drawn out character development and literally no fluff. But it will. Soon. I just need to get this out while it's still Komaeda's birthday otherwise what's the point?
> 
> WARNING: This will spoil SDR2. I still feel the need to warn, because that's just the right thing to do. If you have not played through Chapter five, read at your own risk.

Fire. It flared up in an instant, blinding Hajime momentarily. It was like the flash of a camera, one second darkness, the next intense light. Slowly fading away, leaving you to recover. Except this light didn't disappear.

"Fucking-" Kuzuryuu cursed and darted forward. He grabbed Akane and pulled her back from the room. "Watch yourself Owari!" She had been frozen in front of the door after she had kicked it open, moving only after being prompted.

"We need to put it out," Sonia called over the commotion. Her voice had a tangible difference, it sounded colder. Stern, almost.

"No shit!" Kuzuryuu spat angrily, probably still worked up from retrieving Akane.

"Do we have water?" Souda yelled.

"I saw fire extinguishers in the factory," Chiaki suggested. This had to have been the loudest Hajime had ever heard her speak outside of trial. Hajime's mind slowly processed her statement, picking up the subtle details instead of dealing with the problem at hand. As soon as Chiaki said this, she began running towards the factory, their classmates close behind.

But Hajime lingered. No, that wasn't right. He couldn't move. His legs were stone and his body hummed with the gravity of the situation. Somewhere in his head, a voice screamed, pleaded, begged for him to move. Go help his classmates. Go find Komaeda. Go do something. But he didn't. He couldn't.

Because something felt wrong.

Behind the ensuing chaos, a part of Haijme's brain began whirling as soon as the fire broke out. A dull thrum, a blinding pressure, a squeezing grip beating to the rhythm of his heart. It felt like he had forgotten something and the missing information was creating a black hole in his head. The dull pain began to increase, until it was a searing pressure all over his head, there was too much, and his head was going to explode and there was nothing he could do, he tried to hold it all in, his hands pressing on his temples, attempting, failing, to keep the pieces of his mind all together, keeping him all together, but he was falling apart, he was shattering-

"Hinata, move!"

Hajime glanced up to see his classmates running at him. Their faces were red, their running desperate. He looked around himself to find that he had stumbled back into the doorway. Numbly, he moved to comply with the command, still unsure who's it was, but his foot caught on something. He looked down to see a Monokuma standup and blinked at it. It was right in front of the doorway, laying like something had knocked it over. It had to have been blocking the door before they got there.

Blocking the door... from the inside? But that wasn't possible unless... unless the person who blocked the door was still in the warehouse... the only person who wasn't...

A cold wave shuddered through Hajime. Komaeda was going to burn to death and there was nothing he could do. He couldn't save him. Just how he was too late for everyone else. Images of his dead friends flashed through Hajime's mind. Blood pooling below Togami. Blood seeping from Koizumi's head. Blood trickling from Moida's mouth. Blood gushing from Saionji's neck.

Blood pouring out of a bullet wound on the side of Komaeda's head.

Fuck. No. _No_. Hajime couldn't give up. He couldn't if he wanted to save everyone. Not if he wanted to save Komaeda.

And he would save him. Because he knew he could.

Hajime turned and darted into the burning warehouse without sparing his classmates, who had to being closing in on him now, another glance. He sucked in one last lungful of clean air before resigning himself to the suffocating heat. As he ran, he loosened his tie and began to pull off his button up, tearing multiple buttons in his haste. Once the shirt was free, he clutched the crumpled fabric to his nose. He hesitated once he was a few feet away from the burning inferno. He scanned his surroundings. Hajime couldn't see Komaeda anywhere. He knew that there was a curtain in the back last time he was here, and that was what had to be burning right now. But where was Komaeda?

Then he saw it. A sliver of darkness. In between the burning curtain and the side of the warehouse, there was a gap. A passage way. Rational thought was far gone by now, the only thing left was pure impulse. So, Hajime stumbled towards the small opening and threw himself past, disregarding the flames only centimeters away.  The adrenaline pounding in his ears was too loud to hear his left arm screeching in pain. He shut his eyes against the smoke and forged on. One step. Two step. Three- his foot caught on something and he fell. He fell sharply onto his elbows, his arms still covering his face with his shirt. His left arm was now pulsing with pain, open gashes on his elbows. _Fuck_ , there was no way he could make it now. He might as well just-

 _No. Get back up._ Hajime struggled to his hands and feet with only one hand when he saw him.

Komaeda. He was laying on the floor, covered in blood. Blood. So much blood. There was blood everywhere and it had to be Komaeda's. There was no way that he wasn't already dead. He had to be. There was just so much... too much... blood...

Hajime would have squatted there for hours, his worst fears right in front of him, if the breaking of glass didn't snap him out of it. He looked back at the burning curtain, watching shards of glass skirt under it. The fire seemed to lull, then another crash, and it burst forth with more intensity than before.

Something was wrong. Hajime watched as a thick fog crept from under the curtain and edged its way towards Komaeda. There was something sinister about it, something wrong. Hajime didn't know what it was, but he did know that it was heading towards Komaeda who was... _bleeding_ on the floor. Who was going to die.

Something snapped in Hajime. A bolt of electricity shot through his body, setting all of his nerves on fire. Something snapped and it didn't matter anymore if Komaeda was dead, because Hajime couldn't give up. Not yet. Not when he still had a chance. Not when he still had hope.

He scrambled to Komaeda's side, beating the fog to him. Komaeda's eyes drifted towards his own, and the confirmation only increased his drive. He ignored Komaeda's look of surprise and tried to pull him up, but something held him back. His eyes flickered over Komaeda, soaking it all in. One hand had a knife in it, the other was tied up. Komaeda's mouth was covered with tape, covered with blood. His legs were covered in large wounds, leaking blood, and his feet were tied down too. There was no way he was going to be able to pick him up in time.

Hajime looked back to the fog. It was getting closer, but Hajime noticed that it stayed low to the ground. Maybe...

Acutely aware of his need to be gentle, he swung one leg over Komaeda to get better leverage. Then Hajime grabbed Komaeda's impaled hand hauled it over to his other wrist. Komaeda's other hand was holding onto something, but Hajime didn't have time to really think about it. Hajime quickly flipped Komaeda's hand over and shoved the blade under the rope. Then he began to make slight movements, frantically, as the knife sliced through the rope with ease. The knife seemed abnormally sharp, but Hajime pushed that thought to the side. As soon as Komaeda's hand was free, Hajime pulled Komaeda to his chest and sat them both up. He looked back at the fog and saw that it was now beginning to lap at their sides. Hajime took one last breath and plugged Komeada's nose with one hand.

Please. _Please_. This has to be enough. Hajime slid the arm the was supporting Komaeda up, slotting his hand through his hair and pressing the side of Komaeda's head into his chest. Hajime shifted so that he could nestle his face in Komaeda's hair and tried to calm his racing heart.

Hajime felt Komaeda struggle weakly, trying to free his mouth. He loosened his grip slightly, but kept his firm hold on him. Hajime's lungs began to burn, screaming for air, but he didn't dare inhale. Hajime turned the the ceiling and closed his eyes. He let his hand fist in Komaeda's thick hair. No, they were going to make it. They were. They had to.

Hajime began to feel drops of water rain down on his face. Confused, he opened his eyes and looked for the source. He scanned around the room until he realized the sprinklers had turned on. He looked again for the fog and couldn't find it. What...

Komaeda began to fidget in Hajime's hold. He tried to shake Hajime's hand off, which was still clasping his nose shut. Hajime complied and let go of his mouth, mostly out of confusion. The arms that were previously laying limp on Hajime's thighs gently pushed on Hajime's chest, so Hajime gave Komaeda some slack, pulling his hand out of Komaeda's hair. Komaeda gazed up at him with glazed eyes, his eyebrows furrowed. Hajime reached up and pulled the tape off of his mouth, knowing that he was going to say something.

"Ah... who... who are you?" Komaeda whispered, his voice rough.

Hinata blinked once. "I'm Hinata?"

Komaeda's eyebrows furrowed and he frowned. "How... Intres... ing..."

Hinata shook his head. "We don't have time for this," he said and looked around. It seemed like the fire was dying out. Finally, he had the time to get a good look at what Komaeda was holding. It was some sort of rope. Hajime's eyes followed it up until he saw the spear dangling above them.

Hajime let out a squeak and snatched up a higher part of the rope. He twisted it around his damp hands and glared at Komaeda. "What the fuck? You could have died!"

"I... am dying..." Komaeda began with his signature smirk. Somehow it seemed more sinister with his face covered in blood.

"No you're not!" Hajime interrupted angrily.

"...that's... the point," Komaeda continued, ignoring Hajime.

"Well, not anymore."

"It's," Komaeda continued, but paused briefly to cough. "Too late. I should... bleed out... in a moment..."

"God dammit Komaeda! You are not dying because I say that you are not, got it? I believe you can make it through this, so help me Komaeda, you fucking will." Hajime's chest was heaving, coughing occasionally from the smoke, which was finally beginning to disappear.

Komaeda's eyes grew wide. They had a stare off for a moment before Komaeda spoke. "Such... hope...?" He paused to lick his lips. "Maybe... maybe they... were wrong...?"

Hajime stared at Komaeda with determination and let Komaeda think. He looked like he was seriously mulling over something, the look he got when he surveyed a crime scene. It was nothing like the expression he had during trials. At trials, he always looked like he had it all figured out. Now, he just looked he was trying to piece it together. Komaeda glanced over to the side and stared at something. Hajime looked as well, and saw that he was staring intently at the broken shards of bottles. "Maybe... your hope... can save me..." A genuine smile worked it's way onto Komaeda's face and he relaxed into Hajime's hold.

"Hey, no. Stay awake," Hajime shook Komaeda's shoulder forcefully. Komaeda shushed Hajime and winked before closing his eyes again. Before Hajime could say anything else, a voice interrupted them.

"You fucking idiot! You should-"

Hajime turned to see his friends standing stock still. They were all frozen in their spots, jaws dropped. Horrified expressions that were all too familiar.

He took a deep breath and faced them head on.

"Souda, take this," Hajime ordered and held out his arm holding the rope. "Make sure it doesn't fall on us. Sonia, go get a first aid kit. Chiaki, go outside and get Monokuma or Usami. Just start yelling. Akane and Fuyhiko, help me untie Komaeda." Everyone stood still for a beat. "Now!" Hajime yelled. And they did.

As soon as Souda took the rope, Hajime lifted his leg and got off of Komaeda. He slid his arm under Komaeda's back and his other under Komaeda's knees. He paused and waited until Akane and Fuyhiko finished untying Komaeda before he stood up with Komaeda in his arms. He spun on his heel and briskly walked out of the warehouse, his two classmates close behind.

Once he was outside, he breathed in the fresh air. The crisp, ocean breeze that normally put him off felt like heaven. He glanced down at Komaeda and saw that his eyes were still closed. Whether he was awake or not was still a mystery, but he still looked peaceful. Aside from the blood coating his body, of course, but in this small moment, Hajime knew that he had done it. He had done it and the proof was living and breathing in his arms. It felt good.

But he couldn't enjoy it for long. Monokuma, Usami, Chiaki, and a worried Sonia were waiting for him outside.

"Ah! SO gruesome!" Usami cried and his behind her hands. Monokuma,on the other hand, was laughing.

"Shut up!" Hajime barked. "One of you needs to help Komaeda. Now."

"Ah! Meanie!" Usami cried.

"Hm, you're being very rude right now, Hinata-kun," Monokuma said darkly. "You should watch your tone with your headmaster."

Hajime didn't respond.

"Besides!" Monokuma continued brightly. "Komaeda's probably already dead anyway. I could not-"

"Yes you can. And you will," Hajime interupted him. "He just needs a blood transfusion and a few stitches. Which, honestly, is very simple."

"What? Well, yeah, it is but-"

"Komaeda is not dead. So help him," Hajime stated plainly as he set Komaeda gently on the ground.

"No! You can't make me!" Monokuma yelled.

"Okay, that's fine," Hajime smiled. "Usami, then can you help me if Monokuma can't?"

"I said I won't! Not that I can't!" Monokuma yelled again.

"Uh, I can try!" Usami mumbled and waddled forward.

"It's great that you can do it since Monokuma can't," Chiaki chimed in, nudging Sonia slightly. Fuyuhiko picked up on the movement, and squatted down next to Komaeda.

"Yeah, you're better than that useless Monokuma," Fuyuhiko stated, a small smirk apparent.

"Oh! I am so sorry we have been so mean to you, Usami! Please to accept our most sincere apologies," Sonia sputtered and bowed.

"Uh, yeah, you're better than Monokuma in like... all the ways," Souda stammered, glancing at Sonia for validation.

"Who's Monokuma?" Akane deadpanned, and that seemed to be the last straw.

"Argh! I'll show you who Monokuma is!" Monokuma screamed and charged Usami. He tossed her behind him and began swirling around Komaeda, creating a cartoon-ish dust cloud. Once he was done, he flew back and yelled 'Tah-dah!' Hajime immediately crouched at Komaeda's side and checked him over. The knife was out of his hand and it appeared that all of his wounds had been bandaged. Hajime shimmied his finger below the bandage on Komaeda's hand to see if Monokuma closed the wound. He pulled up the white fabric and saw that instead of an open gash, there was a jagged red line held together by stitches.

"I gave him some blood and closed only the largest wounds. Which Usami could have never done!" Monokuma announced proudly.

"How did you give him blood that fast?" Souda sputtered.

"Why, my amazing powers of course! Now, I've got things to do, so I'm out!" Monokuma snatched Usami's ears and dragged her off as he disappeared. It felt rushed and very awkward how quickly Monokuma left, but then again, nobody knew why he did anything.

Everyone was quiet for a bit. All the adrenaline left Hajime, and he felt like he was deflating. He glanced up at all of his friends and smiled.

"Thank you. For going with that."

"You're welcome and all, but you still need to explain yourself," Fuyuhiko grumbled. He was looking away from Hajime and was scratching his neck with an embarrassed look on his face.

"We should do it at dinner," Chiaki spoke up. Everyone turned to look at her, which Hajime was grateful for. He wasn't sure if he could take all the pressure after this whole ordeal. "We are all very tired and emotionally charged, so we should all relax a bit and we can talk at dinner. Besides, I think Hajime would kill for a shower, and someone should help clean Komaeda up." Once she mentioned him, all eyes turned to the boy on the ground.

"I'll carry him," Akane said, rubbing her ear. "But only 'cause Hinata-kun looks like he's about to collapse."

Everyone nodded and began to start moving. Sonia walked up to Hajime and pushed the first aid kit into his arms with a faint smile. Hajime nodded and gave her a small thank you.

They walked back to the cabins in silence. Everyone seemed to be tired from the day, despite breakfast having only been a few hours ago. Hajime didn't mind. He was so tired and his entire body was in pain. Talking seemed like too much an effort.

It wasn't until Akane stopped at Hajime's door with Komaeda in her arms that he realized that he was going to be taking care of Komaeda. He unlocked the door hastily and waved Akane in after him bashfully. She simply strode in and dropped Komaeda on the middle of the floor. She turned right around to leave again, but hesitated at the door.

"Are..." She looked over her shoulder, one hand on the door. "You can handle him, right?"

Hajime nodded. He didn't trust anything he could say right now.

Akane nodded. "Just... Yell if ya need me. We're... We're here for you Hinata-kun." With that, she closed the door behind her. Hajime let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding and let his shoulders slump. Out of habit, he slid the lock into place. Then he walked over to Komaeda and knelt next to him, sitting on his heels.

Something in Hajime hurt when he looked at Komaeda like... This. All bloody, all hurt, so fragile and torn apart, but somehow still in one piece.

Hajime was sure it was only pity.

"Hey," he called softly and shook Komaeda's shoulder. Komaeda didn't stir.

Hajime frowned. His own voice was raw and ragged from the fire, so he was sure Komaeda's voice would be too. As he got up, he pulled off his tie the rest of the way and tossed it into a corner. Then he fetched a glass and filled it up with water from his sink. When he looked up into the mirror, he was startled. It didn't look like his own reflection. Instead, someone determined, sure, confident stared back at him. Someone who looked like they would walk right through a fire without even flinching. Someone that was nothing like himself.

Hajime wanted to just swallow the foreign, nauseating feelings and quickly return to Komaeda, but he didn't. Something held him back and made him look over himself. His face was covered in stripes of soot, smeared from the sprinklers in the warehouse. His undershirt was in a sorry state, covered in ash, dirt, and sticky with someone else's blood. He thought about how that person was laying in his room, alive, because of him. Hajime was beaten, bloody, and dirty, but he was alive, and so was Komaeda. All because of his actions. Because he knew that he had to, because he knew that he could, because he knew that there was still a chance. That there was still hope. 

The thought soaked into Hajime, instilling a new sort of confidence in him. Now as Hajime examined all of his injuries, he looked less pathetic and more... _more_. His smoke filled lungs were not proof that he was an just an impulsive idiot, but that he was determined and dedicated. His elbows that were torn open and stung every time he moved weren't proof that he was a clumsy mess, they were proof that he was able to get back up. His left arm that was reduced to tender, blistered, red pulp wasn't a sign of failure, it was a mark that showed that he was able to walk through fire and survive. 

Hajime left the bathroom, feeling more sure of himself than he had in weeks, in such a high that he almost forgot the glass of water. 

When he returned, he set the glass down and pulled Komaeda into his lap, propping the unconscious boy against his chest.

"Hey," Hajime called and shook Komaeda. He lifted the glass up, but waited for Komaeda to show some sort of sign of consciousness. "Komaeda. Komaeda!" He raised his voice to no avail. He shook Komaeda again, a bit rougher this time, and Komaeda finally stirred. He shifted, letting out a small whimper.

"Here, open your eyes. Come on," Hajime softly encouraged Komaeda next to his ear. Komaeda let out another whine and shook his head. Hajime sighed.

"Okay, fine. Just, drink this at least." Hajime lifted the glass to Komaeda's mouth and tilted it for him. He watched as Komaeda slowly drank, wincing with effort. When Komaeda pulled away, Hajime lowered the glass and placed it behind him.

"We need to get you clean now," Hajime said, more to himself than anything. He turned Komaeda to the side, just to see him frown.

"N-nuh uh..." Komaeda whined. Hajime almost laughed at the childlike behavior, but then he saw the blood all over Komaeda again and sobered up.

"Yes. Now can you sit up by yourself?" Komaeda didn't respond, instead trying and failing lift his chest up. Hajime nodded and just kept supporting Komaeda. He pushed the jacket off Komaeda's shoulders and shimmied it down his arms, supporting Komaeda the whole way. Once it was off, he let it fall to the ground, too lazy to do anything else.  
Hajime frowned when he came across his first obstacle. He wasn't sure how to get Komaeda's shirt off.

"Komaeda," Hajime shook the other boys shoulder. "You need to wake up and help me." Komaeda stirred, but didn't open his eyes. Hajime forced down his frustration and kept his voice level. "Komaeda. Open your eyes. Now." With his last forceful command, Komaeda finally blinked his eyes open. They wandered around unfocused until they landed on Hajime's face.

"Great, sit up." Hajime pushed Komaeda off of him and moved to kneel in front of him. "Now, hold my shoulders." Hajime placed Komaeda's hands on his shoulders and squeezed them to make sure Komaeda was aware. After that was done, Hajime leaned over and grabbed the bottom of Komaeda's shirt. He pulled it up and carefully worked it over Komaeda's head. He let it rest on Komaeda's upper arms while he changed positions again, kneeling at Komaeda's side. He tugged the shirt loose from Komaeda and threw it into the corner.

Hajime stopped to look at Komaeda. His left forearm was still wrapped in bandages and blood stained his terribly pale skin and something in Hajime just hurt.

"Don't look at me like that," Komaeda mumbled, startling Hajime. Hajime looked up to meet his eyes, pursing his lips in annoyance. "Someone as worthless as-"

"Look at you like what?" Hajime snapped. He really did not want to hear what Komaeda was going to say, and he wasn't sure why. "I'm not doing anything."

"I don't deserve your sympathy," Komaeda said softly, smiling up at Hajime.

Hajime scoffed and stood up, pulling away from Komaeda. "You weren't saying that yesterday," Hajime said bitterly. Hajime waited for him to say something, but Komaeda said nothing. He just looked up at Hajime, one eyebrow cocked. Hajime heaved a sigh and decided to let it drop for now. He was not even sure what he wanted Komaeda to say and couldn't articulate why he felt so upset. Instead of attempting to figure it out, though, he took the step to return to Komaeda's side. Hajime moved to scoop him up, but Komaeda pushed his arms away.

"What? I need to get you into the shower," Hajime bit out. 

"You're angry," Komaeda said softly. "I am not surprised, since I am su-"

"What are you doing? Why are you doing this?" Hajime paused, but did not give Komaeda the time to answer. "Do you think that calling yourself a piece of shit will suddenly make- will just..." Hajime stammered at the end of his sentence, his face growing red as he tried desperately not to say what he was thinking.

Komaeda tilted his head, the innocent motion reminiscent of a puppy. "Did I hurt you? I do apologize, I can not seem to do anything right, even kill myself, apparently." Komaeda chuckled at the end.

"That's not funny. You were... you _were_ trying to... do that, weren't you? What the actual fuck were you thinking? Why?!" Hajime paused again, but barely long enough for Komaeda to even think before he forged on. "What reason could you possibly have had? So many people have been murdered, by our own friends, so many classmates lost, and you, you, why?"

Komaeda's smile faded as Hajime's rant went on, adopting his usual blank composure. "Oh, Hinata-kun, don't flatter me. No one would really be upset if I died. No one really cares about worthless trash like-"

"Well, I do!" Hajime yelled before he could stop himself. He let it sink in, watching Komaeda's face shift through confusion, hurt, then settling on disbelief. Hajime felt the overwhelming, overpowering _need_ to take it back, work his way out of it, but as his mind stumbled for words, he couldn't. He meant it. He did care about Komaeda. He was his first friend here, and even though he had his weird moments, Hajime knew. Something inside of him, whether it was repressed or subconscious, knew. 

So, Hajime stood his ground. This new, powerful, confident, fire-walking Hajime set his shoulders and refused to back down.

Komaeda's face did not change during these few seconds. Hajime could not tell what he was thinking, if he was mad, happy, sad, or even felt anything at all at the moment. Normally, this would freak out Hajime, but now... now he really didn't mind. He almost didn't want to know.

When Komaeda kept his wall of silence, Hajime decided to just continue. He picked up Komaeda and carried him to the bathroom, seating him in the shower. Wordlessly he helped Komaeda rinse his wounds and hair. By the time Hajime finished with Komaeda's unruly mop of hair, Komaeda told him he felt good enough to stand up and finish the rest. Hajime left him in the shower to give him privacy and to also pick out clothes for him to change into as well as grabbing the first aid kit. When Hajime walked back into the bathroom, Komaeda was done, his soggy trousers and boxers in a pile in the corner, a towel wrapped around his waist. 

"Here, they're mine but they're clean." Hajime held out a pair of shorts and one of his undershirts. Komaeda took it with a faint smile and Hajime turned around to let him change. The whole ordeal was quite, but it was not awkward, at least, in Hajime's mind.

Once clothed and clean, Hajime re-bandaged Komaeda and instructed him to lay down. Komaeda didn't argue, and when Hajime told him he was going to take a shower too, he didn't respond. It felt like Komaeda was still thinking, so Hajime just let him be, desperate to get clean himself. 

The warm water irritated his skin too much, so he cranked the knobs to as cold as they would go. He tried not to think about how the icy water felt just like the sprinklers from just earlier that day.

 

* * *

 

 

Komaeda was confused. 

Very, very, _very_ confused. He was supposed to be dead. He had planned everything so perfectly, it should have worked. Was it his luck? His bad luck? It had to be his luck that ruined his plan, like everything else in his life. It was always his luck cycles that ruined his plans, so that had to be it this time.

At least, that was what he thought. 

But his luck didn't make Hajime fucking Hinata walk through a fucking fire.

Everything else went perfectly according to plan. They knocked over the signs, set the fire, and the sprinklers did not turn on until way after they were supposed to. They threw the poison and it worked perfectly and no trace was left behind. Everything went perfectly. 

Komaeda kept thinking of reasons Hinata could have had to walk into the burning building that could have been because of his luck, but kept coming up blank. Yes, he could have reasoned that Komaeda was in the building, but he really had no way of knowing for sure. The chance that the fire was to get rid of evidence and that Komaeda was already dead was far more likely then him being alive. His luck had done some amazing things, but convincing someone to walk straight into fire was not on that list. 

Komaeda just couldn't stop thinking about how he had looked in the warehouse. He was holding on too tightly, he was talking too loudly, he was being too optimistic. There was that spark in Hinata's eyes that Komaeda had seen many times before. That spark that convinced him that Hinata was the one. He was the ultimate that possessed the hope that could save him. It was a selfish thought that he had given up on so many years ago. He tried his best to test it, test Hinata. Set up the first killing, convince everyone that he was an enemy in the first trial, all of his pointless games were to test him. And Hinata passed with flying colors. 

That was, until he found his file in the Final Dead Room. When he found out that they all were the Despairs. They were the ones who ruined the world and crushed hope. All of them. Even Hinata. Hinata had fallen into despair. Everything Komaeda had hoped and thought was all wrong because Hinata was a despair. Besides, Komaeda was one of the disgusting monsters that helped bring about the end of the world. He didn't deserve to be saved, and neither did anyone else in this trash heap simulation. Save the traitor. They were the only one that deserved to live. Everyone was supposed to die and the 'traitor' was supposed to live on because they were the only real hope they all had to offer to the world.

Now Komaeda didn't know what to think. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to think. From what he read, Hajime Hinata was not even supposed to exist anymore, he was supposed to be completely replaced by Kamukura. He was supposed to be an Ultimate Despair as well.

But he couldn't ignore what he had just witnessed. The hope brimming from Hinata. There was no way something like that could have fallen to despair. Unless...

Then it clicked. Hinata didn't fall into despair, Kamukura did. This whole time Komaeda had been thinking about them as the same entity when really they had been separate people. Hinata was never a despair or anything close to it. He was the true Ultimate Hope. 

"Hey." Hinata's voice startled Komaeda from his thoughts. He looked up at him and had to refrain from beaming. He had figured it out. He really had, he was such an idiot, how could he have not-

He almost killed Hinata. He almost killed the ultimate hope he almost ruined everything he made the only good thing in the world put himself in danger for worthless, disgusting, pathetic, trash-

"Hey." There was a hand on Komaeda's shoulder. He looked up and saw Hinata sitting right in front of him, inches away. "You're not responding." Hinata almost looked worried, but there was no way he could be worried about Komaeda. 

"Heh, you shouldn't worry about-"

"Are you okay?" Hinata cut Komaeda off. He closed his mouth and stopped talking, breaking away from Hinata's gaze. Hinata didn't say anything else after that, so Komaeda supposed that he was waiting on him to say something.

"You really should-"

"Nagito," Hinata cut him off again, his voice low and assertive. It sent shivers down Komaeda's spine. 

"Yes?" Komaeda squeaked more than actually spoke. 

"Are you okay?" 

Komaeda furrowed his eyebrows and shot Hinata a questioning gaze. Hinata didn't budge.

"I guess..." Komaeda thought for a moment. He wasn't dying, he wasn't upset, and he had figured out the whole Hinata problem. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Good." Hinata nodded and scooted onto the bed more. "I'm tired, so I'm going to take a nap. You should too."

"Oh... uh..." Komaeda stammered as he watched Hinata climb under the covers. "I'll, um, I will-"

"You'll get under the goddamn covers because you're crazier than I thought you were if you think I am going to allow you out of my sight after the shit you just pulled."

Komaeda didn't know if Hinata meant that to sound as hot as it did. 

So Komaeda just scrambled under the covers and laid on his side, pressed up against the wall, as far as he could possibly be from Hinata. For a while, he just stared at Hinata. After some time, Hinata's breathing changed and he could tell that he was sleeping. It wasn't long before Komaeda fell asleep as well, wondering if Hinata was always like this or if something had changed.


End file.
